


Flayed

by InkyJustine



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Caretaking, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Whipping, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 08:06:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyJustine/pseuds/InkyJustine
Summary: It was a wonder, Nadine thought, that Sam could still talk so well, considering his current state.





	Flayed

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: Whipping/Flogging  
> I wanted Nadine to take care of Sam :o

„You have a lot of enemies, huh?“

It was a wonder, Nadine thought, that Sam could still talk so well, considering his current state. Of course it had come out slow against the pain, but distinct. She and Chloe were on either side of him, holding him up and doing their best not to touch his back. Even though, Sam hissed at each step. They were pressed against his side and it _had to hurt even worse_. Blood was seeping through his clothes, in the places where they weren‘t torn from the strikes of the whip that had flayed open his back and parts of his sides. 

„I do,“ Nadine said in a clipped tone, angry at herself that she agreed to him being bait again. It had been her mess this time; she should have been in his place. The strikes had been meant for her. Instead Sam had felt the full brunt of her enemy‘s wrath. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, not just for this, but for being an ass on their last adventure, too. Seeing him like this made her want to apologize for _everything_.

Sam shrugged, or tried to before his legs nearly collapsed under him and it took all of Chloe and Nadine‘s strength combined to keep his sudden dead weight upright. Which made Nadine want to _punch_ him. He had to be careful. His wounds were awful enough. She felt bad for the thought.

„Careful,“ she warned him and Chloe threw _her_ a warning look, mistaking her tone for anger instead of worry. Nadine swallowed down the words on the tip of her tongue.

„Didn‘t know you cared.“ Sam‘s voice was slurring, which was never a good sign.

„We should get out of here quickly,“ Chloe cut in from Sam‘s other side before Nadine could say something biting. It was probably for the best. Olaf had retreated with his men when the bombs had gone off, but it was only a matter of time before he was going to come after them. He was after the same thing they were: _Atlantis_. But they would have to pause looking for the fabled city, until Sam was better. To Nadine‘s trained eye the wounds seemed worse than they looked and they looked pretty damn bad already. Even if the blood made it harder to tell.  
Sam‘s legs threatened to give out again and he mumbled an apology. Nadine wanted him to _shut up_. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, dragging him to safety with Chloe‘s help. 

The ride to the city was a haze. Nadine could remember being careful, watching their surroundings like a hawk, weapon at the ready in case Olaf‘s thugs came chasing them down, but the details were fuzzy except the choked crying in the back of the jeep where Sam had crouched awkwardly, trying to keep his side and back away from the upholstery and from bleeding all over it at the same time, every jerk of the jeep over the uneven ground jarring his injuries. Nadine had nearly bitten through her lip.  
Chloe had been a tense line beside her, eyes focused on the road.

„I‘ll get us a doctor,“ Chloe curtly said once they had brought Sam in through the backdoor and laid him down on his belly on a table. „Take care of him.“ As far as orders went it was a poor one. She hadn‘t had any intention to leave. From the three of them she had the most experience with injuries of this kind.

„I will,“ Nadine assured her. 

„I‘ll be fine,“ Sam slurred out as she got together a bowl of clear water and some clean towels and stepped up beside him. Carefully, she cut the tank top off of him. Sam hissed when she peeled the fabric away. Some of the blood had congealed, sticking to it. „Really, I will be,“ Sam added weakly when Nadine growled at the state of the wounds. A few of them had been torn back open, bleeding anew beside the ones _still_ seeping blood.

„Be quiet,“ Nadine told him. „This will hurt.“ She gentled her voice. It wasn‘t her intention to make him feel worse.

„I doubt it will hurt--- more, ah fuck,“ he hissed when the towel touched his now bare back. Nadine had been as careful as she could. She knew how painful cleaning a wound could be. The cut on her throat had nearly cost her. She tried to ignore his moans of pain, that came out despite him gritting his teeth, as she washed his back and cleaned the wounds. The water was red by the time she was done. Where was Chloe? She better hurry. Some of them needed stitches. 

„How bad does it look?“ Sam asked. His eyes were half-lidded, his skin clammy when Nadine put the back of her palm against his cheek, ignoring the flutter in her chest at the way he leaned into the touch. The rest of the towels she draped over his back, a thin blanket over his legs to keep away the chill that was gripping him. „Think you can stitch me up?“

„It wouldn‘t look pretty,“ Nadine told him. For a moment she couldn‘t move from his side, fingers digging into an uninjured shoulder before she unclenched her hand and hunted down needle and thread.

„Don‘t care about pretty.“ Sam‘s eyes were almost closed. He had lost a lot of blood. Nadine didn‘t want to know how much attention their bloody jeep had gotten them, even if now it was stowed away in a garage. „Been stitched up in Panama.“ Nadine knew that story already. The whip hadn‘t missed the scars either. When they healed they would have a new shape, at least on one side. Nadine had peeked when Sam had changed shirts once. 

„Sam, I‘m-“ she was about to apologize when Chloe stormed back in, followed by a stranger. Before Nadine had consciously thought about it, she had her gun aimed at his head and he froze in his step, a frightened look on his face. 

„Stop that, he‘s a doctor,“ Chloe hissed at her and pushed down her arm so the muzzle was pointing to the floor. With the gun no longer pointed at him, the man exhaled shakily and then followed Chloe to Sam‘s side. He took away the towels and Nadine relaxed when she saw his expression. She moved around the table and found herself crouched beside Sam‘s head. For a moment she didn‘t know what to do with her hands. They were sweating and she wiped them on her pants. Then, following a sudden urge she couldn‘t explain, she reached out and took his hand, resting beside his face and pressed the back of her palm to his cheek. His eyes fluttered open, but she evaded his gaze, looked instead over his shoulder to where Chloe and the doctor were wiping down Sam‘s back with what Nadine presumed was something to numb the pain. 

„What‘s happening?“ Sam asked slowly. He seemed to be drifting, making something in Nadine‘s chest tighten uncomfortably. 

„I‘m putting something on your back to numb your skin,“ the doctor said before Nadine could speak. „Then I will have to stitch some of your injuries.“ Good for him that he didn‘t ask how Sam could have been whipped within an inch of his life, Nadine thought darkly. Sam squeezed her hand, getting her attention. He looked strangely vulnerable and small. 

„I hate needles,“ he admitted dully. 

„Well you won‘t get around it I‘m afraid,“ Nadine answered just as softly. It was only between them, spoken low enough that the other two couldn‘t hear them. Nadine wondered if he was developing a fever. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against her hand when the needle pierced his skin. Nadine could almost hear his teeth grind. One-handed she undid her belt and pressed a part of it against his mouth. 

His eyes slid open, filled with pain. „Kinky,“ he rasped out and grunted, but he bit down on the leather and Nadine found her other hand carding through his hair. Her body was betraying her today. When Sam slumped, finally slipping into unconsciousness, she nearly jumped up and throttled the doctor. Only her iron self-control kept her where she was. She knew it was better, he couldn‘t flinch away from the needle now. She had seen worse injuries, _caused_ worse injuries. They just had never been on _Sam_. Not even when she had fought him in Libertalia had he looked so bad.

When the doctor was done and had put gauze over the stitched wounds, Nadine pressed her mouth to Sam‘s temple. When she leaned back she caught Chloe‘s eyes.

„Don‘t say anything,“ Nadine warned when Chloe raised a brow. 

„No one would believe me anyway, don‘t worry,“ Chloe assured her with a smile.


End file.
